Chez Wombat

FFS Pagasa, I was counting on you for this one after your early hype!!!

I also listened to him quite a bit back in the day on Radio 1 as chart show cover and sometimes his own show and he always came across as a very passionate and down-to-earth person so this is a real shock. Whatever it is, it must be pretty serious and clear if they were to sack such a big name instantly with no investigation...

Iran are pretty much laughing at him right now and his desperate unfound claims that talks are going well say everything we need, we all knew this would happen. Terrible state of affairs for us all of course and I'm not even convinced Iran's regime will be affected in the long run, but if there's one slight positive, it certainly looks like it brings Trump's downfall ever closer.

Sorry just getting to this now. My feelings on the top 5 are fairly mixed - Not a fan of If I Were a Boy, pretty boring song which comes across as a bit shallow lyrically, American Boy suffered a lot from overplay at the time which did make it tire on me, but I can appreciate the production and fantastic verse from Kanye a lot more now. Not a fan of Leona's Run at all, I adore Snow Patrol's original so that comes into it, but I still think that manages to be an epic, emotional anthem without the need for choirs and vocal acrobatics. I much prefer her stripped back version in the Live Lounge which is much more subtle in its approach. The Promise isn't up there with their very best and they have much better songs which missed out (like The Loving Kind, Call The Shots and Untouchable from around the same time), but it does still have some quite charming retro production and the Xenomania eclectic song structure with each of them getting a vocal moment is quite a nice touch. Thankfully, I'm much more positive about your number 1, that was my other favourite I was referring to and I'm thrilled to see it triumph here - I never expected it at the time, I first heard Great DJ from them and thought they were just another one of those indie-pop Radio 1 bands that stayed under the radar so seeing something this unique and adventurous get to number 1 was great to see, nowadays I do prefer Shut Up & Let Me Go and Great DJ (which I so wish would've become a hit), but it's energy and quirkiness is still really standout in the 2008 number 1s. This was a great read even if we have quite differing tastes! This would be my top 10 of the year roughly Coldplay - Viva la Vida The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name Mint Royale - Singin' In The Rain Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire Dizzee Rascal feat. Calvin Harris and Chrome - Dance Wiv Me Estelle feat, Kanye West - American Boy Girls Aloud - The Promise Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes Basshunter - Now You're Gone Katy Perry - I Kissed a Girl (Oops, I don't actually like many of these x)

I'd never heard of her before last year, but Funny Music came up on my recommended and that led me to Switcheroo, I really liked the eclectic take on indie-electro and it had a great aesthetic. This is another wonderful song from her on first listen - really upping the hazy, psychedelic yet joyful vibes *.

Nelly quite literally falling at the last vote, yikes! I am prepared to struggle a bit in this round, my artist hasn't got any immediate go-tos for this and experimentation is risky!

I think the Corrs were quite lucky to get through to the lives, so I'm not overly surprised to see them out, not a massive fan although I would've probably pointed Runaway quite highly. What a shame for Nelly, she could've easily got to the final with the likes of Promiscuous, Turn Off The Light, All Good Things... and Say It Right not sent yet, but that was always a very risky song choice.

You're absolutely sure when you don't hover your cursor over the right hand side, this doesn't come up?

Is there not a plus button on the right hand side of Music Genres? You just need to press that.

01; HAIM - If I Could Change Your Mind (One of their best <3) 02; David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes 03; ABBA - Super Trouper 04; ROSALÍA - PIENSO EN TU MIRÁ - Cap.3: Celos 05; Delta Goodrem - Believe Again (The best I've heard from her so far easily) 06; Florence + the Machine - Hurricane Drunk 07; Lily Allen – Madeline 08; Nelly Furtado - Big Hoops (Bigger the Better) (This is still a complete mess but also a lot more enjoyable than I remember it, I wouldn't have risked this, but hope it's not out x) 09; Atomic Kitten - Be With You 10; Kelly Clarkson - Never Again 11; Scissor Sisters - She’s My Man 12; Chappell Roan - Red Wine Supernova 13; Conan Gray - Maniac 14; The Corrs - Irresistible 15; Troye Sivan - Bloom

Walking on Sunshine and Bat Out of Hell are my favourites to fall before the top 20, both over the top and cheesy in their own ways, but they always bring my spirits up. This Charming Man is also a real classic that deserved top 20.

I think separating art from artist becomes harder when that artist is actively profiting and having their platform strengthened by investing in their work. She is one of the most powerful and influential people in the country in terms of controlling the media narrative, and when that power's being used to make life harder for minority groups, the best way is ignoring them. I don't judge anyone else for not doing that, it's a huge IP that meant a lot for my generation growing up (probably helped that, while I did enjoy the films, I wasn't overly interested in the books and it wasn't an instrumental part of my growing up), but the brand is forever tainted for me in a way that can't currently be split. But keeping the thread on topic - I wouldn't have any interest whoever produced it, the casting was near perfect in the films and I'm not convinced there was a lot of worthy material left out of the adaptation (the SPEW storyline in Goblet of Fire sounds questionable to say the least and the books seem to reflect the author's narrow neoliberal worldview), I have zero interest in a pointless remake using that as a crutch to milk an IP, it will invite comparison so much until you wonder what the hell the point is when you have the original films. It'll be huge, probably the biggest of the year, but I will be pretending it doesn't exist.

I do agree it's been very overblown and the stories given feel a bit conflicting and exaggerated for attention so I don't think we'll really know the full story. It's a pointless thing to get angry about really, I'm somewhere in the middle - she's entitled to privacy at breakfast and I think parents should make that clear to children, but it definitely didn't need security intervention if indeed that is all that happened. Saying that though, these constant dramas do seem to be a bit of an ongoing issue for Chappell - I'm honestly on her side and I don't think it's unreasonable of her at all to want boundaries from fans and not to want a parasocial relationship, I think her problem is how she comes across, she lacks a filter and some of these outbursts (the 'men have never made good music' thing for one) just really don't help her case and make it easy for the media to blow things out of proportion and paint her a certain way. I'm aware her condition would likely influence her behaviour and that nuance is really missing in conversations about her, but it is a shame that this seems to be an endless cycle for her.

Better Venus version etc. Untouched has one of my favourite intros and opening verses, the chorus sadly doesn't quite live up to it but I do enjoy the song as a whole. Not a fan of Judas, Edge of Glory from the same album was much better.

Reet Petite is a classic from an iconic performer, it was good he got his chance at number 1 even if it was just because of the claymation video. Although my favourite from him is Your Love Keeps Lifting Me (Higher and Higher).

I think my favourites to drop out are Never Leave You, Jenny From The Block and AM to PM, all pretty fun and iconic bops, top 10 is definitely largely correct though x

I Feel It Coming and Careless Whisper were my top 2 so that eliminatom stings a bit, but some great stuff sent by both artists (not sure I'd have sent Blinding Lights that early mind!)

I did think Blondie might be a curveball pick from Jade actually! (and that definitely confirms the identity of ROSALIA ), that's real rotten luck going up first against Nelly Furtado's biggest song and then against all those others hits, again, really enjoyed discovering their lesser known work.

I suspected dandy* was Erasure, I really enjoyed discovering some of their work this contest and the current one here actually got a vote from me despite not knowing it before, Was such an unlucky draw to leave from. Really enjoyed the fred again... and FKA picks this contest too, FKA another one getting a really unlucky draw.

I thought TOMORA would show up eventually and I was actually considering sending another song from them (The Thing) but thought it might be a bit too cheap...it didn't even get discussed in the end so I was clearly too cautious there! This is admittedly my least favourite of the ones I've heard, but it's still a fun, repetitive banger x I have really been struggling with finding an entry from 2026 this year, so have another one from the 2000s, Need my cult indie crew gathering round me x

Oh Nadia being Seven does make sense actually, she was a very fun addition and ended as iconically as she started x Addy being Ace of Base ay, truly shocking x

Conan a very unexpected one amongst the other two there, but I did like this one and it's good to see a surprise! Sad for The Weeknd as that was one of my favourites from him </3 Blondie out is a real shame too

I will be very annoyed if My Doorbell goes out early here, by far the highlight of an awful list Rik Waller first, obviously x

I'm intrigued to read the book as I hadn't heard of it prior, but apparently it's a very faithful adaptation. Really good film, a few slower moments and not the most original overall, but so, so likeable and Ryan Gosling and Rocky makes for an absolutely wonderful on-screen pairing. There was a huge amount of screenings for this so hope it does well and gets people into the cinema as this really needs to be seen on the big screen.

Votes are in, I was pleased to be able to include a discovery in there (a slightly strange choice in terms of getting through, but was lovely to hear it), this was at the expense of one excellent song I already knew so apologies in advance if you were one point off qualifying x